How
do you make found footage even more annoying? Adding 3D ought to do the trick
(and vice versa). Granted, it would be hard to explain why anyone would shoot
the footage to found in 3D, but that will not stop an aspiring sleazy filmmaker
from staking his claim to the first 3D found footage movie. However, things get
meta when the evil entity thingy at their remote cabin location starts
responding to the 3D cameras in Steven DeGennaro’s Found Footage 3D (trailer here), which screens (in 3D) as part of the
2018 Nashville Film Festival.
Derek
is the producer of Spectre of Death,
which he “co-wrote” and will co-star in with his ex-wife Amy. Yep, already
super awkward, even before you take into account his socially inept brother
Mark (who serves as editor, camera man and director of the crowd-funder
behind-the-scenes footage) has long carried a torch for Amy. Derek has hired
Andrew, a reasonably legit director, but he constantly makes it clear he is the
one calling the shots. Their sound guy Carl is also a pro, who happens to owe
Derek money. Their PA Lily has never worked on a film before, but her job is
obviously making Amy jealous, but she is really not that kind of person.
Of
course, the cabin where they will be shooting and bunking looks all kinds of
sketchy. There even seems be dried blood stains on the floor. Yet, the hardy crew
persists. Admittedly, they should have left the first night, but all their bickering
and in-fighting convincingly distracts them from the ominous dark something lurking
in slightly out-of-focus in the corners of Mark’s frames—until it is too late.
FF3D is not quite as
meta as it initially sounds, but that is not exactly a tragedy. The underlying
concept still manages to breathe some life into found footage sub-genre. It
also boasts more character development than nearly all of its found footage
predecessors combined. There are some strong personalities in this film,
starting with the spectacularly obnoxious Derek, but also including the
sarcastic Carl, recovering-co-dependent Amy, and the increasingly exasperated Andrew.
As
Derek, Carter Roy truly chews the scenery like madman. He really goes all out,
but by doing so, he really sets up all the uncanny business that eventually
goes down. Likewise, Alena von Stroheim (yes, the great granddaughter of the Greed director) makes Amy a remarkable
bundle of hot mess neuroses. Scott Allen Perry counter-balances them quite drolly,
as the acerbic but more down-to-earth Carl. Tom Saporito also serves as a
partial audience surrogate as he becomes at first impatient and then thoroughly
disgusted with Derek and Amy’s melodrama, as well as Carl’s attitude. Yet, perhaps
the funniest turn comes from genre critic Scott Weinberg, playing himself,
making an ill-advised set-visit to Spectre
of Death (you just have to see it for yourself).
This
is probably the most original true Blair
Witch-style found footage film since the Dark Tapes anthology and the funniest since maybe the underrated V/H/S Viral. However, the considerable time
admirably devoted establishing characters and setting the scene could have been
pruned a little, because the legit horror movie business does not really get
going until after the halfway point. Regardless, it is cool to see a genre
filmmaker give a tired convention a fresh new spin and largely pull it off.
Recommended with a fair degree of enthusiasm for horror fans, Found Footage 3D screens this Friday
(5/18) and Saturday (5/19), during the Nashville Film Festival (and it also
streams exclusively on Shudder).
